It is not known who replied, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the US postal service.

Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.
I hope you will play with her.. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it.. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, ‘To Meredith’ in an unfamiliar hand.. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, ‘When a Pet Dies..’ Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven.

Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.
Abbey isn’t sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don’t need our bodies in heaven, I don’t have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you. I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I’m easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,
God

Of course, the email goes on and says to forward it to whomever, blah blah blah.. but I don’t do that… but for this one, I decided I’d make a blog post out of it instead

The following is what she reported. I would like to take a second to thank Gail for her participation and for doing an incredible job of tracking and making good on her promise to help me out with the report, I enjoyed the contest fully and look forward to doing more in the future.

DENTAL DOG TREAT REVIEWS

Subjects:

Boss – 11mth Border Collie Mix (50lbs)

Misty – 7mth Beagle, Pug Mix (19lbs)

Type of chewers: Aggressive! We’ve chewed up major rubber toys/ropes.

Week One – ‘Crunch and Clean’ by Hartz

Two biscuits a day

Observations:  These biscuits had a great dry crunch!  I’ve seen my two almost swallow some biscuits in seconds, but these took them a good couple minutes or so, nice dry crunch.  There was a noticeable pleasant smell to their breath for a short period after they ate them.  This noticeable smell didn’t last for a long time.  Might be great just before guests if you have folks who love doggie kisses visiting.

-***Noticeable affect on bowel movements: No

-Did my dogs enjoy eating these (take it each time offered finish eating it): Yes

-Would I buy these for breath: Likely

-Would I buy these for Tartar Control/Fresh Breath: Likely

-Messy: No (any crumbs were quickly licked up!)

Product Summary:

Over just regular biscuits that I might buy as treats, I would buy these because they had such a nice dry crunch which I would attribute to helping with tartar and the added breath benefit.

Week Two – ‘Chew Eez’ Beef Strips by Alpo

Two Strips per day

Observations:  My dogs knawed on one of these strips for a good long time.  The small dog 30-40min, the large dog 2 in 40min. The strips are hard and thin, and get moist as the dog chews.  Lots of positioning and repositioning, pulling and knawing while they eat. Certainly moved around the mouth a lot.

Concerns: ‘Beef hide’ is that the same are rawhide? I’ve been told rawhide isn’t good for dogs.

-Noticeable affect on bowel movements: No

-Did my dogs enjoy eating these: Yes! Very much so.

-Would I buy these for Tartar Control: Yes

-Messy: No

Product Summary:

With two dogs who love to chew, I enjoyed giving them these strips while out in the backyard.  The dogs loved them and it kept them occupied, really occupied with the chewing.  I would buy them for the length of time the dog was occupied alone! Regardless of benefit to tartar control.

Week Three: ‘Tartar Treats’ by Iams

One per day

Observations:  Small biscuits are the ‘seem hard, but mush with chewing’ variety.  Dogs ate them within a couple minutes.

-Noticeable affect on bowel movements: No

-Did my dogs enjoy eating these: Yes

-Would I buy these for Tartar Control/Fresh Breath: No.

-Messy: Because they are small, not really.  I might stay away from feeding on carpet since they mush a bit.

Product Summary:

Not something I would buy for Tartar Control or Fresh Breath.  There wasn’t a noticeable difference in breath and something that mushes doesn’t to me seem to be something that would help with tartar. I’m under the impression that chewing, cruchiness, crumbs, grit, knawing….and the like would be more conducive to keeping tartar away.  But if a product like this came with more information that explained why they keep tartar away, without any abbrasive quality, or long distance chewing, I might try them again.

Week Four: ‘Oral Health’ Snacks by Natural Defense

Two per week

Observations: medium sized bone, strong smell.  Look hard but chew pretty easily.  Dogs ate them within 10min.

-Noticeable affect on bowel movements: No

-Did my dogs enjoy eating these: Somewhat

-Would I buy these for Oral Health: Not likely. Dogs didn’t show enough enjoyment eating them.

-Messy: No, but if I had carpet I might stay away from eating on the carpet since these can mush a bit.

Product Summary:

Not something I would buy for oral health.  There was no real chewing involved, my dogs ate them fairly quickly, longer then a small biscuit, but still rather quickly.  Serving size was two per week yet there were only three in a box, I would think there should either be two or four so that you have a complete serving.  I would have enjoyed these more if the outside of the bone had been harder for the dogs to get through, to get the softer middle.

***Let’s face it, just like with kids, if a food makes for unpleasant changes to bowel movements, all the ‘it helps with tartar’, ‘it helps with fresh breath’, ‘it helps keep them occupied’ won’t matter one bit!

Sure, they dig up the yard in places and generally get into all kinds of areas that they aren’t supposed to, but you know.. they’re my kids – and I want them around me and I love seeing them run around in an open field or park with no restraints.

So having said that, I’ve had lots of experience with both the Invisible Fence that we currently have now as well as lots of experience with the real fence as my direct neighbor has one and we are over there all the times (and of course I bring the hounds 90% of the time as well which is awesome!)

I guess the only fair way to make this comparison is by looking at the pros and cons of each system as it pertains to pet restraint and convenience.

I’ll start with the Invisible Pet Fence

PROS

• invisible – no one sees it, it’s like a magical invisible leash that keeps your dogs in the yard. This, I love about it.
• inexpensive – kits can be had for a few hundred dollars of varying quality and type. They are so popular they’ve developed wireless ones (which I find interesting since I could hypothetically just keep it in my car)

CONS

• buried cable – I have no idea where the cables are.. and I’ve dug into them a few times, bottom line is you have to be careful.
• not 100% foolproof – from having a huge snow buildup (which the dogs could run over and escape.. *sigh*) to just running through and taking the hit.. it happens, you still have to be aware.
• shock – some people think it’s abuse or something to have the shock that they would receive. Personally, I don’t think this is a problem seeing that I’ve had my hounds 4 years and they’ve likely been shocked less then 10 times total.. and it doesn’t hurt them. I know this, since I shocked myself by mistake.. ha.. whoops.
• keeps dogs from getting out, but doesn’t keep any OTHER animals out (foxes, skunks, cats, etc.)
• runs on electricity – power outage? Don’t let your dogs out!! power surge? Well you should be hooking your system up to something like the CyberPower CP550SLG Standby UPS 550VA/330W Surge-Protected Battery Backup System or something similar to ensure that you don’t toast that pricy new equipment you just put in. Very important CON here.. power outages happen all the time, you don’t want to let your dogs out and have them run away on you. The good news on this fact is that most times the dogs don’t even test the lines after awhile so they know their boundaries and this isn’t an issue.

Real Fence

PROS

• pretty much foolproof – unless the dogs dig under it, or somehow figure out a way to climb over the silly thing – they are not getting out.
• privacy – usually the dogs are going to be quite quiet and not bother anyone since they can’t see anyone else – socially though, I’m not so sure this is a ‘pro’.
• resale value – fenced in backyards are desirable for people. You will get back the money you put into it… want to put in a pool? No problem!

CONS

• price – yes, fences are very expensive. Even if you build it yourself the price of lumber alone is unreal unless you know someone who can get you lumber at a really low sale price.
• maintenance – I hate painting.. and staining.. end of story.

So having said all of that, if I had to go back and do it all again.. which would I choose? I guess there really is no ‘right’ answer – at the time – the money which we had to spend was certainly a factor so if that is a major factor, obviously the best choice would be the invisible fence – but if it wasn’t a factor, I would definitely have a great big real fence all around my backyard. I love the looks of some of them, the privacy would be great and as far as the dogs go, I could let them out all day and night with a nice dog house and not have to worry one bit about them.

Champion Beagle!

Congratulations Gail Rhyno!! You’ve won the Dog treat contest and I’ll be in touch with you shortly to figure out how to get a hold of you and start the contest. I’m actually really excited about this (as are Hunter & Bella!) as I would love to know if these treats make a big difference or not. I know mine aren’t going to mind eating them all, that’s for sure!

I would also really like to thank all 14 participants whom commented on the blog and were entered into the draw. Unfortunately due to time restraints I wasn’t able to make a video of the draw, but rest assured it was certainly done fairly and the person that drew was Cindy from my office here – she has a few dogs as well but wasn’t in the contest.

So hopefully these treats won’t tip the scales for the dogs as I think they’re meant to be a healthy choice as well as a plaque/tarter fighter. Gail and I will find out the best one and report back!!

Actually before this contest even started I got to wondering about something.. have you, or anyone you know – ever one any of those ‘sweepstakes’ or contests that you hear about or get entered in automatically? I wonder what happens or if it’s just a big scam with no real winners? What do you guys think?

This.. by the way.. is a real contest So real that I think I’m going to do another one soon too.

He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep.

An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out..

The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour.This continued off and on for several weeks.

Curious I pinned a note to his collar: ‘I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.’

The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: ‘He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3-he’s trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?’

The coupon is for Pedigree Denta Stix, and I just registered.. all you have to do is go to the site, put in some basic information about you and your pet.. your address, and then they send you an email with the link to the coupon.

Free Denta Stix!

You can either click on the picture, or click on this link to get to the site. If you ARE a seriously nice person and want to give the coupon to me.. just forward me the email you get after you register.. you rock!

Mind you, I’m not in the depressed state of mind I was that fateful Tuesday since I have a little bit more spending cash then I did during the last pay period – but not much. I’m fine with it actually, it teaches me that I can stay at home – watch movies – and try to be creative when getting something to eat every day. We have LOTS of food in the freezer and dry goods in the cupboards, why not try to use them up!

Should also mention that I was able to go see one of my favorite band on Wednesday night too! So that came out of the little I had the two weeks prior, but truthfully that wasn’t too bad either since myself and Liz split the costs pretty much down the middle.. $40 for the tickets (each), I paid for the bridge ($42.50) and then I paid $40 or so for the meal we had (Liz paid for the gas since we went in her car and also some of the meal.. she’s really great that way). Wait.. there was also the fact I had to buy a concert t-shirt too ($35 for it may seem ridiculous .. truth be told it is.. but I try to get one at every good concert I go to.. and this concert was definitely worth it).

I’m actually just really excited that I didn’t (and haven’t for some time) had to dip into the Line of Credit or any Mastercard credit in order to go from week to week, and my savings are increasing as a result.

This leads me to my Budget Update. I blogged before about my financial status and of course the last time I wrote about it was back in September where I’d written that I’ve paid off over $3700 in debt since I started sinking my teeth into it. As of today, with no major bills (I don’t want to go into the fact that my boy was limping on his OTHER leg today) – but as of today I’ve put a dent in the amount of $6,118 onto my debt!

I’m EXTREMELY impressed with myself for being able to do this, but it hasn’t come easy. I’ve pretty much given up poker with only one exception per month.. and I’ve also really focused on being smarter with regards to eating out, etc.

That said, I’ve also been able to pay off  that $2418 since September with Christmas as well as Hunter’s major AVC bill paid for! Very impressive I think… but I’m far from done. You are going to see one big celebration when that line of credit amount gets down to zero that’s for sure.. and that’s my goal.

*UPDATE*

Well since I didn’t want to mess around with Hunter’s recently operated on leg being the only one he’s putting weight on, I called the AVC and have an appointment on Monday. Here’s to hoping it’s nothing huge!

Cancer survivor, 9, funds support dog for 2-year-old

by Kirk Mitchell
The Denver Post

Cancer survivor Allison Winn, left, her sister, Emily, and Allison's support dog, Coco, a bichon frise, watch as Krysta Hubbard, 2, bonds with Lucky Bug. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)

After two years of surgery, chemotherapy and treatment for a brain tumor, 9-year-old Allison Winn wanted other kids with cancer to have a companion like her dog, Coco.

“She made me feel better,” Allison said.

So when she regained her strength at the end of spring, Allison embarked on a fundraising campaign of her own invention to pay for feeding and training companion dogs for kids like her.

On Tuesday, in the lobby of the women’s prison where Coco and the new dog were trained, she watched quietly, but intently, as 2-year-old cancer survivor Krysta Hubbard caressed the nose of Lucky Bug, a gentle black Labrador. Krysta affectionately called him “Puppy.”

“It made me feel good,” Allison said in a soft voice.

Allison was a 7-year-old first-grader on April 6, 2007, when a doctor told her mother, Dianna Litvak, 40, that a medulloblastoma was causing her to see double.

Within two days and extensive DNA testing, doctors performed surgery to remove the tumor and initiated chemotherapy that sapped Allison’s strength.

A doctor suggested that she get a pet for companionship. Litvak applied for a dog through the Colorado Department of Corrections’ correctional industries program.

Under the program, inmates at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility train dogs surrendered to local animal shelters to be companion or service dogs for elderly, disabled or seriously ill owners, said Debi Stevens, who supervises the program.

Allison named her white bichon frise Coco because the dog often got dirty around the mouth when she ate.

When Allison started feeling better in the spring, she announced one day, “I want to do this for a kid who has cancer.”

It was her idea to bake homemade dog biscuits from a recipe using flour, bouillon cubes, oil and dried milk powder. She made thousands of dog-bone- shaped biscuits to sell at a lemonade stand in front of her house or a store.

Allison called the treats “Stinkbug dog biscuits,” because “stink bug” is what she called chemotherapy on the last day of her treatments. “Bye-bye, stink bug,” she declared, according to her mother.

Tumor removed

At the same time Allison was baking dog biscuits this past summer, Shanell Mullen, a waitress at a Golden Corral restaurant in Riverton, Wyo., began noticing that her daughter’s eyesight was impaired and that she had become moody.

She had brain cancer. A tumor the size of a golf ball was removed from Krysta’s head in July.

On Tuesday, Shanell drove down from Wyoming, with Krysta repeatedly asking her mother, “Doggy? Doggy? Where’s my puppy?”

At the prison, Krysta got a chance to choose from three dogs. Legally blind, Krysta sniffed and patted and drew her face close to the dogs until she selected Lucky Bug.

“C’mon, dog, c’mon,” she finally said to Lucky Bug as she gently tugged on the dog’s leash.

Sharing her good luck

Her mother said she thinks what Allison did was unique.

“I just think that is an awesome little girl,” Mullen said. “It’s a very touching story.”

Allison earned about $1,000 over the summer — enough to buy Lucky Bug and two other dogs she can give to other cancer-stricken kids. She’s also planning a new dog biscuit-making campaign.

This is the story of Baxter.. the worlds best therapy dog. He looks like a big teddy bear!

Good Morning Everyone

*sniff sniff* He has had his last burrito.. RIP little buddy.

Gidget, the tiny Chihuahua star of Taco Bell’s “Yo Quiero Taco Bell” ad series in the ’90s, in addition to other ad and film work, died yesterday of an apparent stroke. She (yes, she) was fifteen years old.

The owner of Studio Animal Services in Castaic says Gidget suffered a massive stroke late Tuesday at her trainer’s home in Santa Clarita and had to be euthanized.Gidget was the sassy mascot in Taco Bell commercials from 1997 to 2000. While other dogs had bit parts, it was her bug-eyed, big-eared face that was seen pronouncing “Yo quiero Taco Bell,” Spanish for “I want Taco Bell,” in a male voice dubbed by Argentine actor Carlos Alazraqui. A few years later, Alazraqui landed the role for which he is best known: Deputy James Garcia on Comedy Central’s “Reno 911!”Gidget also had a role in the movie “Legally Blonde 2,” but others associated with the ad campaign weren’t so lucky.

Earlier this year, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the creators of the Chihuahua character hadn’t been properly compensated for their work, and Taco Bell was ordered to pay $42 million.Gidget’s trainer, Sue Chipperton, in an interview earlier this year with the People Pets website, described the diminutive dog as a consummate professional on the set. But, she said, Gidget had been the victim of typecasting, which limited her career choices (or, rather, Chipperton’s choices on her behalf).

– Lindsay Barnett